Cardiovascular diseases are a major cause of death in the United States and other developed countries. Atherosclerosis is a progressive disease of the arterial wall where lipid deposition and chronic inflammation lead to the development of plaque. While most plaques will remain asymptomatic, some may become susceptible to thrombosis (vulnerable) and rupture resulting in myocardial infarctions or strokes. Various imaging modalities have been developed to view the vessel wall (Verjans, 2013; J. of Cardiovasc. Trans. Res. ePub June, 2013). Several technologies such as optical coherence tomography (OCT) and intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) can provide information on plaque composition and stability however they require invasive procedures. Another technology utilizes 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose, a substrate that is taken up by actively metabolizing cells such as plaque macrophages, and can be detected by positron emission tomography (PET). While 18F-FDG PET has shown clinical utility for monitoring plaque inflammation, it can also be taken up into many tissues nonselectively. New molecular imaging tools are needed to provide insight into the active cellular and molecular processes that drive the progression of atherosclerotic disease and the development of vulnerable plaques. Tools that support the detection of highly inflamed and/or rupture-prone lesions would provide a valuable mechanism for the identification of at-risk patients and for the assessment of the efficacy of novel therapies.